Young women need education in breast health. Like Susan Komen who died of breast cancer at age 35 and was then memorialized through the creation of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation their lives could depend upon that understanding.
Providing breast health education to women ages 18-39 is the goal of four Spokane health fairs coordinated by Chris Riebe, who teaches community health at the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing. Appropriately, the fairs are funded by Riebe’s grant from the eastern Washington affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
The fairs are free to everyone, but faculty, staff and students are especially invited, Riebe said. The first fair will be Sept. 25 at WSU Spokane (see box for details), and the second will be in October at the nursing college. In the spring, Riebe will schedule fairs at Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College.
The project also funds breast exams and radiological procedures for low-income women ages 18-39 without insurance.
“Health fairs are an effective way to meet the needs of a large number of people,” Riebe said. “Many of our students will be doing this later as part of their jobs in the community. From this experience, they learn how to interact with diverse clients and how to work as a team.”
Each fair will include staffing from a team of approximately 10 student nurses and representation from a variety of community resource groups.
Her students also will evaluate the success or the fairs through written pre- and post-event surveys.
“Together, we will assess the results and see if there are ways we could improve breast health resources for young women,” Riebe said.
